Friday, February 15, 2013

Red Velvet Ice Cream

In my typical routine, I find a recipe, bookmark it or Post-It mark it for later use, and go about my business until it's time to plan my meals for the week. At that point, I pull out my bookmarks and Post-Its and look for something that tempts me. This recipe broke the pattern completely. It was posted Friday, and was in my freezer by Saturday night! The only reason it took even that long was because I had an appointment for a hair cut Friday and went to skate the Rideau Canal for Winterlude on Saturday.

This recipe had only one disappointment, and it was my own darn fault. I take it for granted that my pantry holds certain supplies, food colouring being one of them. I didn't double-check that I had red, and when I went to grab it for the recipe, there wasn't any left. What would red velvet be if not red? Blue velvet just isn't the same... I did my best using my gel colours, but unfortunately the end result just wasn't red-red-red. You can bet that today there is red food colouring in my pantry!

In a
medium saucepan, combine the heavy cream with 3/4 cup of the sugar and the
cocoa powder. Heat over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally, until
warmed through and the sugar and cocoa have dissolved into the cream.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl or a large liquid measuring cup, combine
the egg yolks and the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar. Whisk until
smooth. Once the cream mixture is warm, slowly pour the mixture into
the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking constantly to temper the eggs.
Return the egg-cream mixture to the saucepan over medium high heat.

Cook
the mixture, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom, until the
mixture thickens and coats the spatula or spoon (about 170-175° F.)
Pour the custard through the strainer into a bowl or storage container.
Stir in the buttermilk, red food coloring, and vanilla. Cover and
chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Just
before you are ready to freeze the ice cream, make the cream cheese
frosting. Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an
electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about
2 minutes. Add in the confectioners’ sugar and mix on low speed just
until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla and heavy cream. Increase the
speed to medium-high and beat 2-3 minutes more.

Freeze the ice
cream base in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s
instructions. Transfer to a storage container, alternating layers of
ice cream with layers of frosting. Transfer to the freezer and freeze
until firm.

Annie recommends not omitting the red because it contributes to the flavour. Her recommendation is that you can tone it down, but don't leave it out.